For compare and contrast questions you are asked to identify both similarities and differences. The best way to approach this is by writing thematically. DO NOT write half an essay on similarities and then half on differences. Also do not just tell the story of what happened.
Toolkit: Venn Diagram The venn diagram is an ideal tool for helping you to plan your essay.
Connectives to use in compare and contrast essays
Compare
Contrast
similarly
alternatively
in the same way
in contrast
equally
on the other hand
likewise
whereas
like
instead
have in common
unlike
in comparison
by way of contrast
Paper 2 Example Essay Questions Authoritarian Rulers
With reference to two states, each from a different region, compare and contrast the importance of ideology on the emergence of authoritarianism
Compare and contrast the role economics and war had on the emergence of two authoritarian states each from a different region.
Compare and contrast the aims and results of political, cultural and social policies of two authoritarian leaders, each from a different region.
With reference to two authoritarian states, each from a different region, compare and contrast the extent to which authoritarian control was achieved.
Compare and contrast the nature, extent and treatment of opposition to the rule of two authoritarian leaders in the twentieth century.
The Cold War: Superpower tensions and rivalries
With reference to political systems and ideology, compare and contrast the role of both the Soviet Union and the US in the development of the Cold War.
Compare and contrast the role of two leaders, each from a different region, in promoting détente.
Compare and contrast two Cold War crisis in terms of their impact on the superpowers.
Compare and contrast Sino-Soviet and Sino-US relations.
Compare and contrast the effect of the arms race on both the Soviet Union and the US.
Paper 3 Examples Essay Questions The Cold War and the Americas 1945-1981
Compare and contrast Lyndon Johnson's policies in Vietnam with Richard Nixon's.
Compare and contrast Nixon's and Carter's foreign policy in Latin America.
Civil rights and social movements in the Americas post-1945
Compare and contrast the success of Bolivian indigenous movements with Canadian First Nations organisations.
Compare and contrast Dr Martin Luther King Jr's and Malcolm X's strategies to create a more equal society.
Compare and contrast the social and political impact of feminist movements in two countries in the region after 1960.
Compare and contrast the political impact of Cuban-Americans and Central Americans in the US.